At the concluding Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival meeting held at Sandown’s Betfair Park on Saturday November 13, improving gelding Larry’s Never Late enjoyed a first-up win beating a quality field of gallopers in the $125,000 Group 3 Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation Sandown Stakes (1500m).

Resuming racing after a five month spell, Pentire five-year-old Larry’s Never Late overcame the Heavy Sandown track conditions and a wide barrier draw to narrowly take out the 2010 Sandown Stakes.

After a gruelling run jockey Mark Zahra, who would go on to win the Group 3 Eclipse Stakes aboard Viking Hero three races later, took Larry’s Never Late ($11) over the line first just holding out the Peter Snowden-trained favourite Demerit ($3.50) by a short-head with Rockpecker three lengths away in third.

Trained by Jim Conlan in Cranbourne, Larry’s Never Late enjoyed a solid autumn campaign earlier in the year and after Saturday’s success could now be taken overseas to vie for the riches on offer at Dubai leading up to the World Cup in March.

“There are races on turf over there progressing up to 2400 meters, which would really suit him nicely,” Conlan said.

The Kiwi-bred runner’s career record now stands at seven wins from 28 starts, including the Launceston Cup, for $559, 988 in prize money.

With feature racing in Victoria over for another season, the focus now shifts to Perth for the Ascot Summer Racing Carnival.

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